three

The school wasn't that far from my house, only a 10-minute walk. Still, Alex had insisted that he'd pick me up.So, when I texted him at six in the morning, naturally, he didn't respond. When he did come running to meet me at the park, the first thing he said to me was, 'You didn't sleep last night.' It sounded more like a statement than a question.I'd contemplated waiting for him at the house, and not saying anything, but I really didn't want to run into my parents. Rolling my eyes, I told him, 'No, I just sneaked out before I could run into my parents.'He raised an eyebrow, sitting down into the empty swing beside me. We still had an hour before school started, 'Really?''Yes,' I said in an exasperated tone.He was quiet for a really long while so I turned to look at him, to find him staring at me already. I sighed loudly, to which he said, 'I don't believe you, but fine.'I opened my mouth to argue, but he continue speaking, 'And you know you can tell me anything?'He glanced at me, a question in his face. I nodded after a minute, saying, 'I know.''Good.'We were both quiet after that for a while.I knew I could trust Alex. He was probably the only person I could trust right now.It's just that, talking about it would somehow make it all the more real. I just wanted to return to normalcy, and forget about everything.'Mira!' I felt Alex's shoulder bumping against me, bringing me out of my thoughts.I looked at him, surprised, 'Huh? What?'He frowned, 'I asked if you were nervous.''Oh, well, yeah,' I forced myself to focus on the present, saying in a small voice, 'I really hope I don't run into him.'Alex snickered, 'That's impossible.'I smacked him on the shoulder, glaring at him. He laughed, saying, 'No, really, he hasn't not found me for the past weeks,' He shuddered, 'It's maddening.''Sorry,' I felt somewhat guilty, it was my fault after all for not facing Chris myself.'Nah, it's not your fault. Guy needs to learn to take a hint, ' Then, turning me with a smirk on his face, 'Although, it is your fault for getting involved with him in the face.'I shrugged, 'He's cute.''So?''So,' I said distractedly, looking at my phone, 'Oh shit, it's 7.45!''Shit!' I heard Alex say behind me as we both half-walked, half-ran to the school, 'Why didn't you say something before?''I thought you were watching the time!' I threw over my shoulder.I heard him groan just as we heard the last bell echoing in the distance.We hurried inside along with the others, all rushing to their classes. Alex, and I waved at each other before rushing off to our respective classes.Thank heavens Prof. Harris wasn't in the class yet. Although, the class did become a little quiet at my entrance.I took in a deep breath, ignored everyone, and rushed to my seat in the back. I could hear whispers all around me, but I tried my best to ignore them.'.. didn't you see ..''.. a shame really ..''.. his daughter ..'When the whispers kept getting louder, I was about to plug in my earphones when Prof. Harris walked in.Every time I saw his face, I always wondered what was he even doing in a shithole like this. He could've been a model with those looks-half of the school was crushing on him.'Good Morning! Hope everyone had a great weekend!' He said, after pulling out some papers from his bags. Oh no.If it weren't for his beautiful face, he would've been second to Mr. Gerald-one of the most hated teachers in the school.Prof. Harris had a tendency to take surprise quizzes every two days. And, since I'd been on a little vacation, I'd yet to revise all the stuff.Right, when I was about to start panicking, Prof. Harris, 'Ofcourse, Miss. Peters, you're excused from today's quiz, ' He smiled his dazzling smile which almost made me forgot everyone else staring at me. Almost.'Welcome back, Miss. Peters.' I tried to smile, trying to look grateful before taking out a notebook to copy notes.I could still feel everyone's eyes on me as Prof. Harris went around distributing the quiz papers.Plugging in my earphones, I played the loudest playlist I had in hopes that it would allow me to ignore my own thoughts, and everyone else around me.The other classes were pretty much the same. Everywhere I went, people stared. No one approached me directly though, so I was extremely grateful for that.I wish I had at least some classes with Alex, because the people I had them with were no friends to me. I'd hung out with them at parties a couple of times, and once upon a time, had probably been friends with them too.Now, it was a different story.Apart from Chris, there was one other person that I was really scared to run into. We shared a couple of classes but I hadn't seen her in any so far-something I was extremely grateful for.I could only assume that she had cheerleading practice, which was the only valid reason you'd be allowed to skip classes.When the bell rang for break, I headed straight for the bathroom. I knew Alex would be waiting for me-he'd practically memorized my entire schedule.But, I didn't feel like being anywhere near anyone right now, and I knew Alex would ask.So, when he texted me asking where was I, I gave him the excuse that Mr. Gerald wanted me to put in some extra time to cover everything from the past two weeks.I hoped he'd buy it, because he knew the school had been generous enough to get me notes for everything that I'd missed. But, knowing Mr. Gerald, this was believable of him.After he'd okayed it, I waited for a couple more minutes in the bathroom before stepping outside.The corridors were completely empty, everyone having rushed off to the cafeteria.Instead, I rushed towards the courtyard. I knew it was empty this time round because no one liked hanging outside in this heat.But, on the way outside, I saw someone leaning against my locker, someone I'd been hoping to avoid. I desperately looked around, trying to find someplace to hide, but there was nowhere to go.When I turned around to look at the doors leading outside, Chris was already staring at me.So, I gulped down the nervous, and decided to face him.Standing to face-to-face, I started, 'Hi, Chris.'My voice came out smaller, and squekier than I'd expected it to, and I almost cringed.He didn't say anything for a full minute, so I frowned at him in confusion. I opened my mouth again, but he interrupted me by hugging me really hard.I tried patting his back, but my arms were pinned to my side; I could barely breath.'God, I missed you so much, M.''Can't. Breath.' I got out, while trying to push him off of me.He let go of me at that, but I almost wished he hadn't. If looks could kill, I'd be buried six feet under.'Do you even have any idea how worried I was, M?' I opened my mouth to speak, but he kept going, 'I drove to your house every night, hoping that maybe today will be the day you finally pick up your phone. I even talked to that rat just so I'd know you were alive!'I assumed the rat he was referring to was Alex. God, if only he were here right now.'What did you call me?' I literally jumped when I heard his voice behind me, staring at where the fuck did he even come from.Chris ignored him as if he were an annoying pest, 'Go away, Woods. This is a private conversation.''So, you call people names behind their backs?' Alex got into his face, 'Why don't you say it to my face, huh?''You want me to say it to your face, huh?!' He pushed him, 'Fine, Woods, you're a fucking ray, that's what you are. You're an annoying little rat, you're a fucking nuisance!'Alex punched him.I don't know what happened after that, but somehow I found myself in the courtyard, hiding behind a couple of trees.I was trying to breath in and out, holding my head between my hands.Last thing I could remember was telling them to stop, but I wasn't sure if they heard me.I felt wetness on my cheeks as I gulped in large breaths of air. My legs felt jelly, and gave out under me.I couldn't breathe. I needed more air.All I could hear was white noise in my head, ringing in my ears. Red flashes in front of my eyes as I begged for it to stop. I couldn't tell if it was me or someone else.That was the last thing I remember before I passed out from the lack of oxygen in my head.I woke up on an unknown sofa, feeling like I hadn't slept in weeks.I didn't realize my surroundings immediately, but when I did, I wish I'd run out the moment I woke up.My heart beat fast as I got up, rushing to the door. I was almost there.My hand reached for the doorknob when someone appeared in front of me.The only thing that stood out was the insanity swirling in those dark eyes. I backed away, cautious.I looked around me, trying to find some other escape route. There were a bunch of windows, but they were all locked.But, I knew the house had a backdoor. So, without hesitating for even a moment, I ran towards the kitchen like my life depended on it.I'd just stepped into the kitchen when I noticed two figures blocking the backdoor.'Mom? Dad?' I asked in a quiet voice, fear evident in my tone, 'What are you doing here?'No, this was wrong. This isn't how it's supposed to be. This isn't real. It's not real!'Honey, ' Mom opened her arms towards me, walking closer as if to hug me. It only made me back away, I didn't know why but my gut was screaming at me that something was wrong.When my parents saw me backing away, they frowned, 'What's wrong, Mira?'I kept shaking my head, silently muttering no over and over again.I hadn't realized how far back I'd walked until hands came to rest upon my shoulders, holding me in place as they turned me around.'Are you okay, Mira?' Alex asked me, 'You know you can tell me anything.''Alex..' I sobbed silently, I couldn't help it as he held me. He was the only one I could trust.'I'm here, Mira, I'm here,' He murmured, over and over again, gently rocking me as if I were wounded animal.That's when it hit me; Alex isn't supposed to be here either. The only one who belonged here was him.I looked up from Alex's shoulder, and found him standing right behind us. I pushed away from Alex in fear, just as he brought his hands down.There was a spray of something on my face as I watched Alex's face cut down the middle, frozen in a smile. I couldn't say anything, watching as his body crumbled to the ground like two broken chess pieces.I kneeled on the ground, shaking Alex's shoulder gently, 'Alex?' I whispered in a broken voice, shaking his shoulders some more, 'Alex, wake up!''Alex!''Alex!''Alex!'My eyes snapped open, staring into Alex's face.'Hey..' He greeted me, looking at me worriedly. 'You ok-'I interrupted him, pulling him into a hug. He hugged me back, not saying anything, and I appreciate it.